Kerry Coombs to Ohio State as Defensive Backs Coach?

The Columbus Dispatch is reporting that current Cincinnati Bearcats defensive backs/special teams/associate head coach Kerry Coombs will become the defensive backs coach at Ohio State, replacing Bill Sheridan, who went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as their defensive coordinator.  The Dispatch writes:

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Kerry Coombs appears to be the choice by Urban Meyer to fill the vacancy on his Ohio State football coaching staff, though that was not confirmed by officials last night.

Coombs, the associate head coach at Cincinnati, where he is also coordinator of the pass defense and special teams, reportedly met with Meyer and his defensive staff in the past few days. Coombs could not be reached for comment last night, though a source close to him said he expects him to take the job.

Coombs has Cincinnati roots as he was the head coach at Colerain High School that won the state title in 2004.  Coombs spent five seasons at UC and was a possible candidate when Brian Kelly left for Notre Dame.  UC hired Butch Jones but immediately announced that Kerry Coombs would be on the staff.

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If this is confirmed, OSU has a much-needed piece to recruit Cincinnati, which has not been traditionally favorable to the Buckeyes.

His list of achievements is quite impressive. From gobearcats.com:

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In 2008, Coombs mentored three NFL Draft picks, Mike Mickens (Dallas Cowboys), DeAngelo Smith (Dallas Cowboys), and Brandon Underwood (Green Bay Packers). Mickens was a second-team Walter Camp all-America honoree and UC's all-time leader in interceptions and interception return yardage, while Underwood was a first-team all-BIG EAST performer at safety in his only season at UC. Smith was the national leader in interceptions in 2007 with eight, and ranks second in UC history behind Mickens. The defense finished 31st in the nation in total defense (321.9 ypg) in 2008.

 

Coombs' first campaign as a member of the UC staff yielded instant results. The 2007 defense, led by his ball-hawking secondary, led the NCAA with 26 interceptions and 42 takeaways. That season, Coombs coached all-BIG EAST safety Haruki Nakamura, who was selected in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL draft.

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